Outside the gate, it was indeed Li Yi who had returned!
Since the car was loaded down with so much stuff, Li Yi simply opened the wooden gate and let Li Gang drive the car into the yard.
Li Gang didn’t hesitate; he stepped on the gas and drove right in!
Just then, Tang Xue and Li Na, dressed in warm clothes, came out as well!
Seeing that it was indeed Li Yi following behind the Jeep, Tang Xue wanted to go out to greet him, but Li Na held her back. dxmbang
It was snowing so heavily outside, and the roads were slippery. With her big belly, what if she took a fall?
Tang Xue also realized it wasn’t a good idea, so she stood at the doorway, watching Li Yi longingly.
Ever since returning from Qin Province a while back, Tang Xue had gone through a massive family upheaval and had come to fully understand who in this world truly cared for her.
On top of that, Li Yi had been incredibly patient and doting toward her.
As a result, Tang Xue’s feelings for Li Yi had grown even deeper.
Especially during the time Li Yi was away from home in Beijing, Tang Xue couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Even Li Na couldn’t help but tease her, saying that if she kept this up, she’d eventually turn into a “stone wife” (a rock that turns into a statue while waiting for her husband).
As for Li Yi, upon entering the door and seeing Tang Xue standing there, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
“Let’s go inside first and unload our things—we’ll be right in!”
Hearing Li Yi’s voice, Tang Xue replied, but she hesitated to move.
It wasn’t until she saw Li Yi and Li Gang unloading large sacks of rice and flour from the car that she finally had to turn back into the house and step aside to let them through!
Since there was so much to carry, Li Na had to come out to help as well.
Even with the three of them working together, it took quite a while to get everything inside.
Once inside, Li Yi looked at Tang Xue, whose eyes were red, and asked with a hint of affection, “What’s wrong? Did Third Sister give you a hard time?”
“No, I just…”
Even though she knew her younger brother was just joking, Li Na couldn’t help but complain, “You ungrateful brat! While you were away, I almost had to put Xue on a pedestal and worship her.”
“Aside from three meals a day, I have to empty her face-washing water every morning and her foot-washing water every night. Serving tea and water all day is one thing, but then in the afternoon I have to accompany her on walks too—and you say I’m picking on your wife…”
Before Li Yi could say a word, Tang Xue couldn’t help but interject, “Sis Na, he’s just joking with you!”
“Huh, already taking her side the moment he gets back?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Alright, Third Sister, I was just joking with you earlier. I actually brought you some ‘Ten Thousand Shades of Purple’ and clam oil this time, plus a whole bunch of your favorite snacks!”
“Now we’re talking!” Li Na said with a laugh.
After saying that, Li Yi gestured for Li Gang to sit on the bed while he prepared to pour him some water.
However, Li Gang clearly didn’t want to interrupt their family reunion, so he immediately made an excuse about having work to do at the unit and took his leave.
Li Yi understood what he meant, so he didn’t try to keep him there.
Instead, he told him that he’d go into town to see him in a couple of days and invite Liang Yukui over for a visit then.
Li Gang had no objections, of course, and left in high spirits.
After seeing Li Gang off, Li Yi immediately asked his third older sister, “Sis, where’s Dad?”
“He’s at the production brigade!”
“What’s he doing at the production brigade in the middle of winter?” Li Yi frowned.
“To take care of your little lambs!”
Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.
His old man was just a restless soul.
Liu San’er had told him a few days ago, after returning from the capital, about the village’s plans to purchase cattle and sheep.
Accompanied by his older sister’s husband, they had made four trips deep into the northern pastoral regions over the course of more than ten days, bringing back a thousand lambs and 400 calves.
The lambs cost 20 yuan each, and the calves cost 50 yuan each.
The reason they were so cheap was mainly because the winters in the pastoral areas are simply too cold.
The herders usually only have a yurt of their own, and most of the time, the cattle and sheep are kept outdoors in pens.
Under these conditions, lambs and calves born in the fall are generally unable to survive the winter, so when they see someone willing to take such young calves and lambs, they are naturally willing to sell them.
As for the price, you can basically just pay whatever you can afford.
Not to mention that it can recoup some of the losses, but more importantly, for the vast majority of herders, this gives the calves and lambs a chance to survive.
Compared to money, this seems far more important!
“With so many people in the village, why does Dad have to be the one to look after the livestock?”
“No one made him go—he went on his own!”
Li Na continued, “Every morning, after taking the mules and horses for a walk, Dad heads over to the livestock shed. He won’t come back until it’s time to eat!”
“Never mind. If he wants to go, let him. It’s not like it’s doing any harm,” Li Yi said.
“That’s easy for you to say. Mom’s not home, Xiao Xue’s pregnant and can’t do a thing, and Dad’s never around. All the household chores have fallen on me alone!”
Li Yi knew his third sister was telling the truth, so he immediately smiled and said, “I know you’ve been working hard, sis. I’ll buy you a nice outfit later—you can pick whatever you like!”
“You make it sound like your sister here can’t afford clothes…”
“We’ll go to the big mall in the capital—the kind where they’re two hundred yuan a piece!”
“Deal!”
Hearing this, Tang Xue, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She knew full well that Li Na’s true motive lay elsewhere—she wasn’t after that 200-yuan dress, but rather wanted to go to the capital.
As for what she planned to do in the capital, the motive couldn’t be any more obvious!
Realizing that Tang Xue had seen right through her, a blush instantly spread across Li Na’s face.
Li Yi noticed that something seemed off between the two of them, but he didn’t ask any questions.
“By the way, I’ve got some good news for you—my older sister just had a baby!”
Hearing this, both Tang Xue and Li Na lit up with joy and immediately asked, “When was it? Is it a girl or a boy?”
“She gave birth this morning—it’s a chubby little boy, weighing 7 jin and 9 liang!”
“Oh my, he really is a chubby little boy—almost eight pounds!” Li Na said happily.
Tang Xue asked, “How is Big Sister doing? I heard giving birth is really painful.”
Li Yi replied, “She’s doing fine. It only took three or four hours from the start of labor to delivery, and she gave birth in less than an hour once she got into the delivery room!”
“That’s good news!”
Li Yi glanced at his watch; it was almost noon—time to cook.
Never mind Tang Xue and Third Sister—he himself was starving.
From noon yesterday until now, he’d only managed to eat a couple of bites of chicken cake in the car when he came back earlier—other than that, he hadn’t had a single drop to drink.
He looked at Tang Xue and said, “I bought some pork, lamb, and chicken. What do you feel like eating?”
“How about chicken…”
Li Yi, who was just sipping from his teacup, heard this and immediately choked on his drink, coughing uncontrollably!
Unaware of the double meaning in her words, Tang Xue immediately stepped forward to pat Li Yi on the back, saying, “You’re a grown man—how can you choke on water?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I was thinking about something and zoned out!”
“What is it?”
“Something about the shop!”
Hearing this, Tang Xue immediately asked, “Speaking of which, last time you had Captain Li pass along the message that the shop was up and running. What’s the situation? Tell us about it!”
“Sure, let’s talk while we cook!”
“Okay, then you can make us some chicken…”
Before Tang Xue could finish, Li Yi cut her off and said, “Alright, just watch. I’ll get started right away!”
With that, Li Yi washed his hands and headed into the kitchen to get to work.
He was genuinely afraid that his simple-minded wife would keep going on and on about “chicken this” and “chicken that”—it was just too easy to let one’s imagination run wild!